International Conference of Organic Movement and Seed Industry Held at FAO Headquarters in Rome
	July 20, 2004 International Conference of Organic Movement and Seed Industry Held at FAO Headquarters in Rome
	Bonn, July 20th 2004 – From the 5th to the 7th of July in Rome, the organic movement and the seed industry met for the first time on a world level to examine mutual challenges and opportunities for the organic agriculture and seed sector. The organic seed conference attracted some 270 participants from 57 countries and was jointly organized by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), an umbrella organization for the global organic movement, the International Seed Federation (ISF), which represents seed breeders and traders worldwide, and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
	The conference focussed on several key aspects of seed production and propagation, including economics, seed quality and diversity, in addition to harmonization and regulation within the industry.  About 60 presentations and 27 posters gave a broad overview of relevant topics.  The conference’s panel discussion addressed the pivotal issue of co-existence of organic agriculture with genetic engineering.  Conference proceedings (188 pages/24 Euros) are available from IFOAM. As the first conference jointly organized with NGOs and hosted on FAO premises, the meeting was a remarkable event and participants were heartened by FAO’s hospitality and substantive contributions.  IFOAM president Gunnar Rundgren stressed in his keynote speech, entitled “Seeds are magic,” some of the challenges for the organic movement regarding seeds, drawing special attention to the control held by multinational seed corporations and the most apparent manifestation of this force  – the genetically-modified seed market.  Rundgren stressed the need for harmonization in the organic sector, seed regulation in general, and the importance of respecting farmers’ rights.  His speech also highlighted the difficulties with organic seed legalities as they relate to the preservation of genetic diversity on organic farms. In this context, Edith Lammerts van Bueren (Louis Bolk Institute, NL) pointed out in her conference summary that the organic sector needs to develop new strategies adapted to market diversification.  In particular, it was concluded that plans should involve cooperation with the commercial seed industry and serve both larger-scale farmers focussed on export- and supermarket- quality varieties, and small-scale farmers who deal primarily with local markets and seed varieties. In order to maintain dialogue between conference organizers and stakeholders  - especially on the vital issue of co-existence between organics and GMOs - IFOAM Executive Director Zadok Lempert proposed to the FAO that it take the lead in establishing a standing committee that would evaluate the current situation and formulate a code of conduct for the matter.  The FAO expressed a willingness to take this up, and also made a commitment to work with IFOAM to support participatory plant breeding for organic farmers. The organic movement met alone prior and after the conference to discuss important issues around organic seeds which couldn’t be accommodated in the official conference programme.  Topics of discussion included seed exchanges, seed breeding, farmer’s rights, and protection against invasive GMO technologies. Another chief discussion point was how organic seed regulation requirements create obstacles for farmers operating in local markets and/or living in developing countries. The conference’s spirit of cooperation was captured in the “Wrap-up” speech by Ms. Ranghanathan (ISF), who stated, “the forum provided for an exchange of use, opinions, and experiences based on mutual respect.” Ranghanathan characterized the high level of inter-sectoral cooperation as good “seedsmanship”. The conference’s positive impact was further evidenced by the organizers’ commitment to continue working together to ensure the availability of organic seeds, in their full diversity, for organic farmers around the world. For further information, contact Bernward Geier (b.geier@ifoam.org).
	© IFOAM - International Federation of Organic Agriculture